Two pangasius farms with the tune of 20 hectares are expected to be granted ASC certificate in 2012. If they are certificated, 6,000 MT of raw pangasius per year – equivalent to 2,000 MT of finished products will be labeled ASC, Docifish Corporation (Docifish) reported.

In late 2010, the company was granted GlobalGAP certificate for its 5 ponds with the total area of 5 hectares which provide 1,500 MT of raw pangasius (500 MT of finished products). However, the supply of GlobalGAP-certificated pangasius only responded to a small part of Docifish’s demand of 6,000 MT of fish for export to the EU market per year. Therefore, the company strives to get certification for 100 percent of its pangasius farms to meet the requirements by its traditional partners and to follow the global trends. Read more of this post

Up to 12th May 2011, 45 pangasius farms with the total area of over 1,000 hectares in Vietnam have been certificated by GlobalGAP. These farms belong to 24 enterprises.

GlobalGAP sets voluntary standards for certification of agricultural products (livestock, aquaculture..) around the globe to ensure food safety and hygiene. The standards cover the process of the certified product from farm inputs until the product leaves the farm. The increasing number of certificated pangasius farms proves that improved quality of the fish. The certification makes great contribution to bolster global consumers’ confidence in Vietnam pangasius products, to expand more potential export markets for the fish. Read more of this post

On January 18, 2011, in Can Tho city, the Steering Committee for Pangasius Production and Marketing held a conference on development management of the sector in the year 2011.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development and Director of the Fisheries Directorate (D-Fish), Mr. Vu Van Tam chaired the meeting. Participants included D-Fish Deputy Director Pham Anh Tuan; officials from the provincial agriculture and rural development departments (DARD); related ministries, sectors, enterprises and farmers; and professional associations.

According to the 2010 summary report, through December 30, 2010, nearly 2.4 billion of fish fries have been stocked in 5,400ha of farming area in the Mekong Delta. Pangasius output of the region is estimated more than 1.1 million MT. Pangasius export turnover is expected to reach US$1.4 billion with export volume of 645,000MT.

Pangasius farming area in Dong Thap province decreased to 1,580ha in 2010, with an output of 291,000MT and export turnover of US$299 million. Mr. Dang Ngoc Loi, Deputy Chief of Dong Thap DARD said “With one breeding center at national level, five hatcheries at district level and many small hatcheries, Dong Thap can provide 1.3 billion Pangasius juveniles annually, meeting demand of local farmers. In 2011, Dong Thap strives to increase Pangasius farming area to 2,000ha, with an output of 300,000MT.

According to Director of Can Tho DARD, in 2010, the province has already implement the Pangasius farming area planning, reduced the number of small-scale farms, and expanded concentrated farming area. By the end of 2010, Can Tho had 750ha for Pangasius farming, with an output of 230,000MT, a decrease of 5 percent over the previous year. In 2011, Can Tho will focus on strengthening the links between four stakeholders in the Pangasius chain: farmers, processors, feed producers and seed providers.

Most participants at the conference stressed on the importance of Pangasius output management in 2011. Mr. Nguyen Huu Dung, Vice Chairman of VASEP, said D-Fish and the Steering Committee should ask Viet Nam government to focus on quality instead of volume in Pangasius production. Mr. Duong Ngoc Minh, Director of Hung Vuong Corp, said “If we have to assure the higher output by year, we will not have advantages in Pangasius production and export. It is now essential to have quality standards as soon as possible.”

This year, D-Fish will concentrate on building VietGAP – Viet Nam’s standards for the certification of production processes of agricultural and aquaculture products.

Pangasius production in 2011 is planed to reach 1.2 to 1.3 million MT in 2010, with an export turnover of US$1.45 to 1.5 billion.

In his closing speech to the conference, Mr. Tam pointed out following solutions to consolidate Pangasius production in 2011: